Stronger Than Me
by bekahM104
Summary: Niklaus Mikaelson, a man with a life full of nothing but loss and Caroline Forbes with a past full of nothing but hurt. He thought no one would understand and she thought no one would know the pain but he met her, she met him and they understood each other in ways neither knew were possible. AU/AH
1. Chapter One : Powerless

**Stronger Than Me**

**Chapter One : Powerless**

* * *

His daughter was dying and there was nothing he could do to help. Do you have any idea what it's like to just have to sit back and watch as the only person that has ever brought you some form of joy does everything she can to hold on for just a little while longer?

He was her father for god's sake, he was the one who was meant to be there for her no matter what. He picked her up when she fell, wiped away the tears when she cried, hugged her when she needed comforting, stood up for her when she couldn't stand up for herself. He was meant to take the pain away and this time he just couldn't and he hated it. He would fly to the fucking moon and back if she asked.

He never left her bedside and he held onto her hand constantly but he knew it wasn't enough. He couldn't do anything to help when she woke in the middle of the night screaming out in pain, he could do nothing but sit back and watch as the doctors did something. People neither of them knew, people who he wished he was when they made it stop, people he wished could tell him why she was like this, why god was punishing him.

Day after day, week after week and month after month had passed and he still couldn't do anything.

"I don't know what to do anymore, I can't just sit back and watch as she dies. She doesn't deserve this!" he shouted, it drew some stares from the people in the hospital waiting room but he could honestly care less at this moment.

"It's going to be alright Nik, I promise." Rebekah said as reassuringly as she could.

She understood where he was coming from, he was the strongest man she knew. She didn't know what she and Stefan would do if Adrianna was dying. She didn't think she'd be able to take what Nik had gone through, losing his fiancé and now his daughter. He really was the strongest man she knew.

"How Bekah? How is my daughter DYING okay, how is anything ever going to be alright?" he asked her, he sounded absolutely defeated. She just wished there was something she could do.

Her siblings and her have had that conversation so many times before, asking what they could possibly do to help him. The answer was always the same, nothing. It's not that they didn't want to do anything, it's that they couldn't. And it broke her heart more than anything.

"What did the doctors say?" she asked tentatively, these was uncharted waters for her. Elijah or Katherine or Kol usually asked that and when they did she would see the same pained look that was crossing her brother's face right now.

"She's too weak and too young for them to even try radiation, the chemo isn't helping either and if anything they say it's making her worse. She's not getting any better and they don't think she'll make it through the night." He said, reciting it like it was a poem he spent all day learning.

"I'll call Elijah and Kol and tell them to come down," he nodded and turned to walk back to Silver's hospital room, she didn't really know what to say and that was the first thing that popped into her head, "and Nik?"

"Yeah?" he said, turning slightly to look at her,

"I really am sorry."

He nodded and walked away, back down the corridors of a hospital that was now becoming a second home to him and he hated it.

* * *

The glass of the window was cool against his skin, the streets outside passed through the corner of his eye in blurred vision. He could not cry, not here. When he got to her then, yes, but not now in the backseat of a taxi cab with some random man in the front. Saying this was the worst day of his life would be an understatement.

The cab came to a halt outside a very familiar apartment building and it gave him some comfort. Ha, who knew a grey building could instil such comfort in a man. He got up and out the cab, tossing a fifty at the driver before slowly walking through the reception area and into an elevator as if moving any faster would make him break. Level 42, the penthouse suite. The silent elevator music was making his head spin and the slow movement of the elevator itself was making him sick to his stomach and he just wished for the familiar 'dinging' sound that indicated he was where he's wanted to be since it happened.

The elevator finally came to a stop after what felt like forever for him and the short walk from where he was to the only door on the level seemed excruciatingly slow. He knocked ever so softly and a short while later she was standing there in the doorway, looking him over.

"Nik…" she said softly and he looked up at her for a split second before bursting into heart wrenching sobs. She grabbed him by the shoulders and pulled him into a hug. They stood in her doorway for what seemed like hours before he regained control of his sobbing and shaking, "C'mon let's get you inside." She said more to herself than anyone else.

She led him into her home and sat him down on one of the couches in the formal living room, never letting go of him once.

"Do you want to talk about it?" she asked him, getting up and walking over to her liquor cabinet and pouring both of them a glass of scotch. She sat down on the coffee table in front of him and handed him the tumbler.

He took it from her, silently thanking her and downing the drink all at once. He looked her in the eyes before speaking, his voice barely above a whisper, "She's dead."

Rebekah closed her eyes at his words, "Silver?" she asked quietly and he nodded solemnly.

There was a moment of silence. She jumped slightly when Nik was suddenly on his feet,

"What did I do to deserve this? Everything was going so goddamn well and then this had to go and happen!" he shouted and she looked up at him with a broken look in her eyes, "What did I do to deserve this?" he said quieter this time.

"Nothing Nik, you don't deserve this."

* * *

**Thoughts? Yes? No? Maybe?**


	2. Chapter Two : If You Just Smile

**Chapter Two : If You Just Smile  
**

* * *

The large black rain clouds hung low in the sky, thin rays of sunlight streaming through the spaces between the clouds. A crack of thunder and a flash of lightening occurred every now and then. Friends and family gathered in the small cemetery down the road from Saint Peters cathedral.

The tiny coffin was raised above the seats and placed in front of the bible stand. Father Joseph read from the bible while everybody huddled underneath big black umbrellas.

"May we bow our heads in prayer," Father Joseph said,

"_Lord we pray for Silver,  
Eternal rest, grant unto her, O Lord  
And let perpetual light shine upon her.  
May her soul, through the mercy of god, rest in peace  
Lord we pray for those who mourn,  
For parents and children,  
Friends and neighbours.  
Be gentle with them in their grief.  
Show them the depths of your love,  
A glimpse of the kingdom of heaven.  
Spare them the torment of guilt and despair,  
Be with them as they weep for that which they have lost  
In your name, holy father,  
Amen." _

"I would like to call Silver's father, Niklaus Mikaelson to say a few words." Father Joseph said before stepping back and allowing Klaus to come forward.

Rebekah made sure that Klaus never left her sight the entire funeral, she was by his side the entire time holding his hand or hugging him or leaning her head on his shoulder. She would do anything in her power to prove to him that he wasn't alone in this. But when Father Joseph called Nik up, she knew he would have to do this alone. She reluctantly let go of his hand and let him walk up to the front of the procession.

He pulled the speech out from his jacket pocket and placed it on the stand, placing his hands on either end of the stand and leaning forward, he took a deep and steadying breath before beginning to talk,

"I sat down two days ago with a pen and a piece of paper in front of me trying to find the right words to use to describe my little girl, and I just couldn't. I sat down and tried to think of what you would want to hear about her, I tried to think of what the perfect thing was to say about her as her dad and once again I just couldn't. But there is one thing I would like to share with you all if you would listen," he said and for the first time he looked up and at the entire group of people there. Friends and family were gathered for the once vibrantly happy little girl that was barely five meters away from him, tucked away safely in the lilac and white coffin, her favourite colours.

"I remember the first time I held my baby girl, I didn't know anything could be so small, so delicate and then I felt that tiny heartbeat and I knew that I couldn't love anything more in the whole world and I just hoped I could do right by her, I would always be there to catch her when she fell and make sure that nothing ever hurt her. Not a broken arm or a bad dream or a broken heart but the thing is my little girl was taken away from me and I'm left with a broken heart." He sniffed and let the tears roll down his cheek before bringing his hand up and wiping them away,

"Not many people know why I named her Silver, most say it's an unusual name. I remember when she came home from her very first day of first grade, in tears. She looked up at me with this heartbreakingly sad expression on her face and asked me why people made fun of her for being named after a colour." Rebekah was smiling, remembering what Nik had said to his daughter. "You know why I named her Silver? Because I was in a dark place in my life before she came into the world, she was my silver lining and I couldn't have been more grateful to have had her in my life even if it was only for a short time."

"It's unnatural to bury your children and it is something I would never in a million years wish for anyone, cause it hurts, bad. I know people are gonna say she was suffering and it was better for her life to be ended but it would've been better if she wasn't sick in the first place. You don't understand the physical pain you feel when you wake up and remember that the only thing that has ever mattered to you is now gone. I don't expect you to understand if you've never lost a child before but I'll try my hardest to just… try."

"I have one more thing to say before I hand it over to my sister here and it's a quote from Silvy's favourite song, _'smile though your heart is aching, smile even though it's breaking. When there are clouds in the sky, you'll get by, smile through the pain and sorrow, smile cause maybe tomorrow you'll see the sunlight shining through for you._'" Klaus finished, sniffing and he silently walked back to his seat.

Rebekah gave him a reassuring smile before standing up and heading toward the bible stand,

"This is a short piece from one of Silver's favourite readings called _The Unfinished_," Rebekah started,

"_We cannot judge a biography by its length,  
Nor by the number of pages in it.  
We must judge it by the richness of its contents  
Sometimes those unfinished are amongst the most poignant._

_We cannot judge a song by its duration  
Nor by the number of its notes  
We must judge it by the way it touches and lifts our souls  
Sometimes those unfinished are among the most beautiful._

_And when something has enriched your life  
And when it's melody lingers on your heart  
Is it unfinished?  
Or is it endless?"_

She smiled weakly before walking back toward her seat but stopping at the little coffin and placing a small kiss on the white of it and whispering "We miss you." And walking back and sitting down.

* * *

Under normal circumstances you are to invite guests over to your home after a funeral but these weren't normal circumstances. As soon as the coffin was lowered into the ground and the choir started humming 'Pure Imagination' Klaus completely lost it. He no longer held that strong front he was putting up, it's one thing for someone to be dead but to watch your own daughter be lowered into the ground in the spot alongside her mother is another thing entirely, it just makes everything more real.

He was devastated to say the least. He fell to the ground and sat with his head between his legs. He didn't move. Elijah said goodbye and thanked everyone that had come to the funeral, asking them to respect his brother and his state of mourn which they all did gratefully. He stayed there on the ground for hours on end. He stayed there even when it started to pour with rain.

Elijah and Rebekah walked up to him in the rain,

"Niklaus, bekah and I think it best you get inside now. We can come back here later if you want." Elijah said and waited for a reply that didn't come.

Nik started to shake and Rebekah was immediately by his side, pulling him toward her and cradling his head in her arms,

"I can't - " he started but couldn't fight through the tears that ripped through him, Elijah knelt down beside him and patted him on the back,

"You're not gonna do this alone."

He lifted his brother to his feet and led him to the car.

_You don't have to do it alone. _

* * *

**It's a sad, sad situation. Reviews are greatly appreciated.**


	3. Chapter Three : Strawberry Swing

**Chapter Three : Strawberry Swing**

**Hi! Sorry I took so long to post but I just started school again, anywho this chapter takes place 3 years after Silver's death and 10 years after the death of his fiancé. Enjoy it xo**

* * *

_3 years later_

"I can't believe that my first night out in London involves a fancy charity art auction, I have nothing to offer, I'm gonna feel like shit when everyone is bidding and I'm just like there, so I stand by what I said and I don't think it's the best idea for me to come out with all of you tonight…" Caroline said, peeking her head out of the bathroom and looking at Stefan who was currently making himself at home on her couch,

"Oh c'mon Care, when is the last time you've gone out with me and Bekah? You have no friends here besides her and I so it's the perfect opportunity to make some" Stefan said from his place on the couch,

"Hey! I'll have you know I do have friends other than you, you little shit." Caroline said confidently. Stefan just scoffed out an 'okay' and she had to resist the urge to roll her eyes. He might be her best friend but he could really be a bit of an asshole sometimes.

"Are you nearly done in there? It's almost 7.30 therefore Bekah is going to kill me cause we're late."

"She may be an incredible bitch sometimes but have I ever told you how much I love your wife?" Caroline asked jokingly as she got her purse and walked to the door, Stefan quickly jumped off the couch, "So how do I look?" Caroline did a little twirl showing off her emerald green, long sleeved cocktail dress that cut off just below the knee.

"Absolutely beautiful," Stefan said giving her a quick kiss on the cheek, "now can we please go before you're without a best friend and Adrianna is without a father?" he asked seriously and Caroline giggled, mumbling a "fiiine" between giggles letting him lead her out the apartment.

* * *

"Thank you for doing this for me by the way" Klaus said coming up behind Rebekah, she jumped slightly but turned around and gave him one of those huge smiles that she usually reserved for him,

"You like it? I tried to think of what she would like you know? I mean after all this event is sorta for her." She said gesturing to the place around her,

"Everything is beautiful, thank you." He said giving her a small hug before walking off to someone across the room.

About fifteen minutes later Stefan's car was pulling up in front of a building on a side of town that Caroline had never been too. There were people filing in and out of the building, all dressed to the nines. Caroline started to feel uneasy; she hadn't been around this many people in a while. Stefan must have noticed something was wrong because he was out of the car and on her side, opening the door for her. He knelt down beside it and looked up at her,

"Hey, hey Care look at me." He said softly and she looked down at him, "If you get uncomfortable in any way at all, just tell me and I'll take you straight home okay?" she silently nodded and got out of the car, Stefan right by her side. He took her arm in his and led her to the entrance, there was a smartly dressed man standing behind a podium holding a clip board and talking to someone about something through his earpiece.

"Name?" he said, barely even looking up from the board in front of him,

"Salvatore, plus one." Stefan said and the man's head immediately shot up.

"Ah Mr Salvatore!" the man said, "would you like me to call someone to take you to your um… wife?" he continued eyeing the woman who was obviously not Stefan's wife,

"No, no need for that I'm sure I'll manage to locate her easily enough. But thank you." Stefan said, already leading Caroline into the hall.

They walked through the corridor, the ceiling was painted beautifully and everything had gold trimming. They carried on walking until they reached the main hall, Caroline thought she had died and gone to heaven. The sight was absolutely beautiful, with women and men dressed as angels sitting on strawberry coloured swings hanging from the roof at the entrance, they were handing out damasked purple and cream roses to each guest. The room had an almost fairy-tale feel to it with twinkly lights hanging and the soft jazz playing in the background, the paintings up for auction seemed to fit right into the theme as they were on plain display, it was all absolutely beautiful.

Stefan's voice pulled her out of her reverie, "Bekah did a damn fine job of decorating this place."

"She did this?" Caroline asked in almost disbelief and Stefan just laughed

"She is a party planner Care, she organises events like these for SalvatoreMikaelson Co. all the time. This one is just a little closer to home for all of us than the others." He started, "c'mon lets go find Bekah"

She let him lead her through the crowd of people, stopping every now and then to chat to people he recognized and to introduce her to some of his friends. When they reached Rebekah, she was standing with an unfamiliar looking man,

"Darling you made it!" Rebekah said happily before kissing Stefan, "Caroline, you look precious! It's wonderful to see you again." she hugged Caroline tightly then pulled back, the unfamiliar man stepped forward and took Caroline's hand into his then brought it up to his lips to kiss it gently and Caroline had to stop herself from flinching and pulling her hand back,

"I don't believe we've met before, I would have recognized your pretty face from a mile away." The man said, "I'm Kol by the way."

She smiled at him politely, "Caroline."

"Ah, pretty name to match the pretty face. Care to join me for a drink Caroline?" he asked her sweetly and extended his arm toward her. One drink wouldn't hurt would it? She smiled and accepted his arm and let him lead her across the room to the small bar that was set up,

"What's your poison?" he turned to ask her when they got to the bar,

"A glass of red wine will be fine thank you." She said kindly, he turned away from her to get the bartender's attention to order them their drinks,

"What can I get you?" the man asked once he made his way over to them,

"Black velvet and a glass of your finest red wine for the lovely lady to my left." Kol said smoothly to the bartender, he then turned back to Caroline who was currently looking around the room,

"So, what brings you to London?" he asked with a smile,

"Uh, work and I needed a change, a very big change and that change kinda included moving across the ocean." She replied jokingly, he laughed slightly

"What work do you do?"

"I'm a writer slash journalist. I used to write for the Jardin magazine in L.A but circumstances and a really good job opportunity at the UK branch of The Rolling Stone is why I'm here." Caroline replied, she didn't really like talking about her old life in L.A, it brought up too many bad memories. "Anyways, what do you do?" she asked him, hoping to move the subject away from herself and onto him or just something else,

"I actually own this place, it's sort of an up and coming spot for events such as this to be held at but I do work at SalvatoreMikaelson Co. with Stefan and my brothers." He said,

"You're a Mikaelson?" Caroline asked, sounding slightly confused,

"Um, yeah. I thought you would've known from the accent." Kol said in a mock serious tone

"Oh ha, ha." Caroline said jokingly. Their drinks were then placed in front of them and Kol paid (with quite a bit of objection from Caroline). They were making their way away from the bar when Kol asked her,

"Do you maybe want to come join me at our table? I could introduce you to the whole Mikaelson clan?" Kol asked hopefully,

"Sure why not." Caroline said with a smile. She let Kol lead her through the crowd of people towards one of the tables closer to the front of the hall.

When they finally reached the table there were six people sitting at it, two of them were familiar faces, but the rest she had no idea who they were. She had seen pictures of them and they attended Stefan and Rebekah's wedding but she could not for the life of her remember any of them. Her and Kol walked up to the table and Kol introduced her to everyone,

"Everyone this is Caroline." He said gesturing to her, "Caroline this is Finn and his wife Sage and Elijah and his wife Katerina." He said gesturing to each of them, they smiled at her when he mentioned them,

"It's Katherine actually, only Elijah calls me Katerina." Katherine said sounding slightly annoyed,

"Ignore my wife, she's just slightly annoyed because she hasn't had a drink in like 5 months." Elijah said to Caroline,

"Yeah well you won't let me even sniff wine mr 'don't even try that, the baby could be harmed in some sort of way'" she said sounding even more annoyed than before, they started to silently argue with each other over something or the other when Kol spoke,

"What time is the auction starting? I would like to introduce dear Caroline over here to Nik."

"It should be starting any minute now." Rebekah said, kol pulled a chair out for Caroline then sat down in his own.

As if on cue, there was the sound of applause and Niklaus walked onto the stage,

"Good evening ladies and gentlemen, I would just like to thank you on behalf of the Cancer Association for your generous bids on the pieces of artwork that have been up for auction all throughout the night." Klaus started, people applauded once again,

"As someone who has been directly affected by this disease, I cannot tell you enough how thankful I am that I have people in my life who support me no matter what and most of the people that turn to this organisation do not have that sort of support system in their lives. The cancer association offers those people someone to turn to, someone to talk to and someone to lean on. The work they do is incredible and in honour of them I would like to put up one of my most prized pieces of art up for auction," he said. He walked over to the middle of the little stage where a canvas was standing covered by a shade cloth, he pulled the shade cloth aside to unveil the beautiful painting underneath it,

"It's called _'Silver'_ and it was inspired by my daughter." the painting was of a face, on the one side of the person's face it was dark and grey but straight down the middle was a silver lining and on the other side was a much lighter and happier looking face. It was absolutely beautiful, he had real talent. Another man walked up to the podium and took Klaus' place in front of the stand,

"We start the bidding at 14 000" the man said,

"17!" Shouted someone from the back of the room

"20!" shouted another, it went on like this until the highest bid was at £72 000.

"We at the cancer society would like to thank you once again for your very generous donations, we appreciate it and trust me when I say, it will go to a good cause," Klaus said, "now, enjoy the party."

He stepped off stage and walked toward the table they were all sitting at,

"I can't believe your painting sold for that amount, that's absolutely ridiculous!" Katherine said when Klaus sat down next to her,

"Yeah, I actually can't believe it myself" he said, sounding slightly dumbfounded. Kol cleared his throat and Klaus looked at him then at Caroline, they shared a long and not at all awkward 'stare down' with each other.

"Klaus, this is Caroline. Caroline this is my brother Klaus." Kol said,

"It's a pleasure to meet you." Caroline said with a polite smile,

"The pleasure is all mine."

* * *

**I don't know if there was really a real point to that chapter, it was more of a filler than anything but Caroline and Klaus do meet each other, PLUS Caroline has a secret past that I'm sure we all wanna know about. I'm sorry once again for the wait only to get this as a chapter, I promise the next one will be good! xo**


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